An internal combustion engine burns a mixture of fuel and air to produce mechanical energy used to propel, e.g., an automobile. Pistons move up and down inside the engine's cylinders. As the pistons move down, intake valves located above the cylinders open, and fuel and air are sucked into the cylinders. The pistons then move back up inside the cylinders to compress the fuel-air mixture. Electric sparks produced by the vehicle's ignition system spark plugs ignite the fuel-air mixture. The resulting burning gases rapidly expand in volume to force the pistons down again in the engine cylinders to provide the motive power for the vehicle. This power is transferred by the reciprocating piston rods to the crankshaft to the transmission to the vehicle's axle that turns its wheels. The burned gases escape from the piston cylinders via exhaust valves to the vehicle's exhaust system.
A critical component of the engine is the vehicle's air intake system that controls the amount of air flowing into the engine in direct response to the driver's degree of depression of the accelerator pedal. A throttle body is typically located between an air filter box that removes unwanted contaminant particles from the incoming airflow, and the intake manifold of the engine that provides an inlet portal for the air to the piston cylinder intake valves. Positioned within this throttle body is the throttle plate that constitutes a butterfly valve regulating the airflow through the throttle body. As the accelerator is depressed, this throttle plate is rotated within the throttle body to open the throttle passage to permit additional air into the intake manifold An airflow sensor will measure this change in the throttle plate position and communicate with the engine control unit to, in turn, increase the amount of fuel sent to the fuel injectors. In this manner, the fuel and air mixed within the engine's intake manifold are maintained at the desired fuel-air ratio regardless of the accelerator position as the vehicle speeds up or slows down.
Over time, the critical components of the vehicle engine and intake manifold accumulate dirt and residues. For example, the fuel injectors that produce the atomized fuel spray for delivery to the intake manifold tend to accumulate unwanted deposits in the nozzle area resulting in nozzle cloggage. Partial blockage of the fuel spray will produce rough idling of the engine and unwanted hesitation during acceleration. Meanwhile, carbon deposits accumulate in the intake system, itself, caused by the passing fuel. The combusted fuel-air mixture also leaves unwanted carbon deposits in the engine cylinders that can impede the proper piston reciprocation required for smooth engine performance. Furthermore, carbon deposits on piston heads can become hot enough to ignite the fuel-air mixture before the spark plug fires, a condition called “pre-ignition.” This condition robs the engine of fuel economy and power, while causing rough engine operation and audible “spark knock” noises.
Various cleaners are available within the industry for cleaning these unwanted deposits and residues from the engine cylinders, piston heads, intake manifold, and fuel injectors. Liquid cleaners can be poured into the vehicle's gasoline tank wherein they mix with the gasoline. Eventually, the cleaning fluid will reach the fuel injectors, intake manifold, piston heads, and engine cylinders via circulation of the gasoline through the vehicle's fuel system. However, the necessity for avoiding corrosion of the rubber hosing between the fuel tank and the fuel injectors requires a relatively dilute cleaner fluid. This reduced concentration of the cleaner fluid significantly compromises its ability to dissolve contaminant deposits in the vehicle engine.
As an alternative, an owner can take his vehicle to a mechanic. The substantial time period required for the dilute cleaners commercially available in the market to work through fuel system circulation make them useless for a mechanic as a diagnostic aid. Alternatively, the mechanic can disassemble the various engine parts to clear them with higher-strength liquid cleaners. However, this process is time-consuming and expensive.
Such cleaning solutions can also be delivered in a spray format to the engine by means of compressed air or an aerosol container. U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,237 issued to Lang discloses a crankcase spray device having a nozzle mounted to a flexible conduit. The nozzle is inserted into the oil discharge outlet of the oil pan for delivery of a cleaning solvent-compressed air admixture for removal of oil sludges inside the oil pan. This device, however, relies upon a discharge port, which is unavailable in other engine parts, and there is no way to orient the pressurized flow of the cleaner inside the oil pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,406,971 issued to Velez, Jr. shows a manifold with multiple probes for injecting a cleaner wash into cavities within an aircraft engine turbine blade. The probes appear to be straight without any need to curve them to gain access by the cleaner to an engine part in need of cleaning.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,413 issued to Chen teaches a fuel injector cleaning system. A manifold delivers pressurized cleaner via a hose into the fuel injector. However, a special fuel rail connected to the fuel injectors is required, so that the cleaner fluid hose can easily be connected to the engine. Chen does not insert his fluid hose inside the vehicle engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,814 issued to Bowsman et al. discloses an engine decarbonization system. The cleaner is blown via pressurized air through multiple hoses that need to be connected to the engine after the spark plugs are removed. However, this device requires the removal and reinstallation of the spark plugs, which can be a time-consuming process requiring a mechanic. Special tips and attachments for the cleaner spray head for the particular vehicle engine are also required for proper orientation of the cleaning fluid delivery within the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,604 issued to Ahmadi et al. illustrates a cleaner delivery device for an internal combustion engine. The cleaner contained inside an aerosol canister is connected to a “treatment manifold” consisting of a series of rigid hoses or spring-rigid guide tubes which can be oriented without crimping of the tube. But, this device requires an available access port within the engine so that the treatment manifold assembly can be inserted into the engine to gain access to the part that needs to be cleaned. Moreover, Ahmadi requires a skilled technician to use this device, probably due to the specialized knowledge and training required for working with the engine access port and proper orientation of the treatment manifold hoses.
Proper cleaning of engine parts does require specific directional delivery of the cleaning compound to difficult-to-reach regions within the engine. Most vehicle engines feature an air intake hose connected to the throttle body that can be utilized for introduction of the atomized cleaning compound into the engine. But, such air intake hose is typically connected to the throttle body inlet collar via an inside diameter (“ID”)/outside diameter (“OD”) coupling joint that enables a clamp to tightly fasten the hose around the collar. This orientation of the ID/OD coupling joint makes it impossible to insert a straight conduit extending from the aerosol canister through the gap in the ID/OD coupling joint for proper alignment with the internal air flow direction without bending the conduit. Yet, this curved, non-linear pathway for delivery of the cleaning compound from the canister to the internal engine location can lead to crimping of the conduit that blocks the flow of the atomized cleaner through the conduit, or else fails to maintain proper orientation of the leading end of the conduit inside the throttle body toward the throttle plate. Crimping of the conduit can occur at the point at which it passes between the downstream end of the air intake hose and the throttle body, because of the tight fit of the ID/OD coupling joint. It would therefore be beneficial to provide a delivery system for providing the cleaner in atomized format via a non-rigid conduit to an internal engine location in accordance with the required directional orientation without crimping of the conduit, and without the need for complicated disassembly of the engine to gain access by the cleaning compound to the desired internal engine location.